DOCSLIB.ORG

Introduction Egyptian Queenship Was Complementary to Kingship, Both In

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Originalveröffentlichung in: P. Kousoulis and N. Lazaridis (Hg.), Proceedings of the Tenth International Congress of Egyptologists, University of the Aegean, Rhodes, 22-29 May 2008 (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 241), Leuven 2015, S. 809–821 PTOLEMAIC QUEENS IN EGYPTIAN TEMPLE RELIEFS: INTERCULTURAL REFLECTIONS OF POLITICAL AUTHORITY, OR RELIGIOUS IMPERATIVES? Martina Minas -Nerpel (Swansea University) Introduction Egyptian queenship was complementary to kingship, both in dynastic and Ptolemaic Egypt: No queen could exist without a king, but at the same time the queen was a neces­ sary component of kingship 1. The royal mothers and wives played a fundamental role in the mythological renewal of kingship, but only in very rare cases, the queen could assume the power and surpass her traditional role as king ’s wife, mother, sister, or daughter. Research on the queens’ role and their status has become more and more popular 0ver the last decades. This is confirmed by the most recent exhibition “Egyptian Queens”, held at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, from 12 July to 10 September 2008. The last part of the exhibition is devoted to Cleopatra VII, since “in the Western ■Pagination, the Queen of Egypt is incarnated in Cleopatra ... Paradoxically, however, lhe best-known Queen of Egypt is a Greek descendant of Alexander ’s generals”2. But is it in fact so paradoxical? Researching her on the basis of sources as diverse as hieroglyphic temple inscriptions, demotic and Greek papyri or epigraphic evidence, Classical authors, Egyptian or Egyptianizing statues, and Hellenistic images reveal a dazzling figure who substantially influenced Egypt and the development of the Roman Empire. Cleopatra VII was a Hellenistic monarch of Macedonian origin, but she was a^o the queen of Egypt which is why the Monaco-exhibition sets her at the end of a long development and describes her as following: “She is heir to a long line of attested sovereigns from the end of the fourth millennium BC”3. This emphasizes that Ptolemaic 1 L. Troy, Patterns of Queenship in Ancient Egyptian Myth and History, Boreas: Uppsala Studies in ^"c'ent Mediterranean and Near Eastern Civilizations 1 (Uppsala, 1986), 12. M. Minas , ‘Macht und 'Jhnmacht. Die Representation ptolemaischer Koniginnen in agyptischen Tempeln’, Archiv fur Papyrus- '"’schung 51 (2005), 127-54. Ead ., ‘Cleopatra II and III. The queens of Ptolemy VI and VIII as guarantors of k>ngship and rivals of power’, in: A. Jordens and J.F. Quack (eds.), Agypten zwischen innerem Zwist “fd aufierem Druck. Die Zeit Plolemaios ’ VI. his VIII. Internationales Symposion Heidelberg 16.-19.9.2007 W;esbaden, 2011), 58-76. , See the Exhibition homepage (accessed July 2008), ‘Exhibition’s synopsis, I. The myth of Cleopatra’: I "h7Avww.grimaldiforum.com/eng/culturel/expo_info.aspx ?r=l 19&ID=28. Exhibition catalogue: C. Zieg - ER,(ed.), Reines d ’Egypte. D’Heteplieres a Cleopdtre (Monaco/Paris, 2008). Ibid. 810 M. MINAS-NERPEL queens combine traditional Egyptian and Hellenistic aspects - not only Cleopatra VII, but all Ptolemaic queens. Although Ptolemaic queens participated decisively in religious and political devel­ opments, few scholars focus(ed) on them, for example R. Hazzard who explained, from a Classical point of view, the role of the queen in Ptolemaic propaganda4 , or Sabine Albersmeier and Sally-Ann Ashton who discussed both their Egyptian and Egyptianizing royal sculpture5 . Jan Quaegebeur was one of the very few scholars who interpreted their images and titles in indigenous temples6 and vitally contributed to our understanding of Arsinoe II7. Dorothy Burr Thompson analysed the ruler cult in the Hellenistic art8, Erich Winter in the Egyptian temples9. His study was complemented by a monograph on the Ptolemaic ancestor lines in the Egyptian temples in comparison to the epony­ mous priesthood, in which the queens played a decisive role10 . 11 Ptolemaic queens were depicted in Egyptian temples accompanying the king in various ritual scenes, as deceased queens from Berenike I onwards and as living or acting queens from Arsinoe II. They usually wear traditional Egyptian royal insignia and stand behind the king, generally in a passive role, with an ankh- sign, a sistrum. or a flower in the hand. In the later Ptolemaic period the queen could occasionally present specific offerings like the king". She could even present them by herself, as did queen Nefertari in Nineteenth Dynasty. However, a figure of a king always complemented the Ptolemaic queens, if not in the same ritual scene then at least in an adjacent one. Like the dynastic pharaoh, the Ptolemaic king, by contrast, was shown by himself in the large majority of ritual scenes. 4 R.A. Hazzard , Imagination of a Monarchy: Studies in Ptolemaic Propaganda (Toronto, 2000), 103-59. 5 S. Albersmeier, Untersuchungen zu den Frauenstatuen des ptolemdischen Agypten, AegyphJt'a Treverensia 10 (Trier, 2002). S.-A. Ashton , Ptolemaic Royal Sculpture from Egypt: the Interaction between Greek and Egyptian Traditions, BAR international series 923 (Oxford, 2001). 6 J. Quaegebeur , ‘Reines ptolemaiques et traditions egyptiennes’, in: H. Maehler and V.M. StrocKA (eds.). Das ptolemaische Agypten. Akten des Internationalen Symposions, 27.-29. September 1976 in Bet (Mainz, 1978), 245-62. ' 7 J. Quaegebeur , ‘Ptolemee II en adoration devant Arsinoe II divinisce’, Le Bulletin de I’lnstitutfran(,a' s d ’archeologie orientate 69 (1971), 191-217. Id ., ‘Documents Concerning a Cult of Arsinoe Philadelp 08 at Memphis’, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 30 (1971), 239-70. Id ., ‘Arsinoe Philadelphe, reine, r01 deesse, a Hildesheim ’, Gottinger Miszellen 87 (1985), 73-8. Id ., ‘Documents egyptiens anciens et nouveau relatifs a Arsinoe Philadelphe ’, in: H. Melaerts (ed.), Le cube du souverain dans I’Egypte ptolemaid au IIP siecle avant notre ire. Actes du colloque international, Bruxelles 10 Mai 1995, Studia Hellents 34 (Leuven, 1998), 73-108. u 8 D.J. Burr Thompson , Ptolemaic Oinochoai and Portraits in Faience. Aspects of the Rule' L (Oxford, 1973). KA 9 E. Winter , ‘Der Herrscherkult in den agyptischen Ptolemaertempeln’, in: H. Maehler and V.M. (eds.), Das ptolemaische Agypten. Akten des Internationalen Symposions, 27.-29. September 1976 in 1 (Mainz. 1978), 147-60. 1,1 M. Minas , Die hieroglyphischen Ahnenreihen der ptolemdischen Kdnige. Ein Vergleich mil ‘ der eponymen Priester in den griechischen und demotischen Papyri, Aegyptiaca Treverensia 9 (Trier, - 11 See Minas , Archiv fur Papyrusforschung 51 (2005), 127-54. PTOLEMAIC QUEENS IN EGYPTIAN TEMPLE RELIEFS 811 The way Ptolemaic queens were depicted demonstrated that queenship was a reli­ gious and political complement to kingship, as it had been in dynastic Egypt. However, ■n comparison to dynastic queens, developments and changes in their depiction and in their titles are noticeable. In addition, the depiction of Ptolemaic queens in the Egyptian temples and their titles in the accompanying hieroglyphic inscriptions reflect different aspects than the Hellenistic images or in Greek textual evidence. Their titles in the native context, in particular, have not been studied properly for their political and religious meaning, with very few exceptions, such as "female Ra and "female Horus”12 . *Only through a thorough analysis of their depictions together with the titles and a comparison with papyrological evidence we will be able to understand the image of the Macedonian queens in the Egyptian temples and their status as Egyptian queens11. A complete analysis of the Ptolemaic queens is necessary, a synopsis that takes into account all the evidence, written and iconographic, Greek and Egyptian. For such a comprehensive study research from the perspective of Egyptology, Clas­ sical archaeology, papyrology. and ancient history is vital. In this paper, three specific Egyptian ritual scenes will be considered, posing the question: Are they intercultural reflections of political authority, or religious imperatives? In other words, how far was the political authority of the Ptolemaic queens mirrored in Egyptian temples? Case study 1, Deir el-Medineh: The co-regency of Ptolemy VI, Ptolemy VIII, and C|eopatra II (fig. 1) The first example dates to the joint rule of the three offsprings of Ptolemy V Epiphanes, Ptolemy VI Philometor, his sister-wife Cleopatra II, and Ptolemy VIII. In preparation *0r the war against Syria and the recovery of Coele-Syria, the duality of reign of Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II was replaced by a triple rule: in October/November 170, •heir younger brother, the future Ptolemy VIII joined his siblings Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II in ruling Egypt14 . The co-regency of the three Theoi Philometores was c°nimemorated with a new sequence of regnal years, replacing Philometor’s own. 12 D. Dkvauchelle , ‘Breves communications: notes ptolemaiques. §3'. Revue d'Egyptologie 40 (1989), ,9() (Rait). G. Hoi bl ‘Ptolemaische Konigin und weiblicher Pharao’, in: N. Bonacasa el at. (eds.). Faraoni «>me dei, Tolemei come faraoni . Alii del V Congresso Internazionale Italo-Egiziano. Torino. Archivio di Mato, 8-12 dicembre 2001 (Torino/Palermo, 2003). 88-97. ,. The queen was considered to be a manifestation of Hathor, the female prototype of creation. The ^'ngship was not complete without a queen who could be designated as a female Horus. See Minas , Archiv 'iir p apyrusforschung 51 (2005), 130. For further infomiation about the Ptolemaic queens as female Horus M. Eldamaty , 'Die ptolemaische Konigin als Weiblicher Horus . in: A. Jordens and J. Quack (eds.),
Recommended publications
  • Dendara. Gergory Marouard

    Dendara. Gergory Marouard

    DENDARA DENDARA Gregory Marouard Dendara (Tentyra, Iunet) is one of the major archaeological sites north of the Theban region and the ancient capital of the sixth nome of Upper Egypt, Iqer, the Crocodile nome. The site is located 55 km (34 mi) north of the Luxor area and 5 km (3 mi) south of the modern town of Qena. Situated on the “West Bank” from an ancient Egyptian perspective, Dendara lies south of the river, in a curving bend of the Nile, the only part of the valley where the river runs from the east to the w est (fig. 1). Today the site is positioned along the desert fringe of the Nile valley floodplain. It seems quite likely that the river — currently situated 2 km to the north — flowed much closer to the site in ancient times. Well known by its sanctuary complex of the goddess Hathor, which dates back to the late Ptolemaic and early Roman periods (fig. 2), the main temple is one of the most iconic and the best preserved, with the Ptolemaic temple at Edfu-Behedet. Those two sanctuaries, the temple of Hathor at Dendara and the temple of Horus in Edfu, were always considered as sister-sites sharing a close religious connection. The triad of Edfu (Horus, Hathor, Harsomtus/Ihy) was honored in both temples and every year in the month of Epiphi (Season of Shemu), when the Nile waters were at the lowest level, the “Feast of the Beautiful Reunion” was celebrated. The statue of Hathor left its temple and traveled upstream by boat to the south in order to join her consort Horus in Edfu.
  • Cleopatra II and III: the Queens of Ptolemy VI and VIII As Guarantors of Kingship and Rivals for Power

    Cleopatra II and III: the Queens of Ptolemy VI and VIII As Guarantors of Kingship and Rivals for Power

    Originalveröffentlichung in: Andrea Jördens, Joachim Friedrich Quack (Hg.), Ägypten zwischen innerem Zwist und äußerem Druck. Die Zeit Ptolemaios’ VI. bis VIII. Internationales Symposion Heidelberg 16.-19.9.2007 (Philippika 45), Wiesbaden 2011, S. 58–76 Cleopatra II and III: The queens of Ptolemy VI and VIII as guarantors of kingship and rivals for power Martina Minas-Nerpel Introduction The second half of the Ptolemaic period was marked by power struggles not only among the male rulers of the dynasty, but also among its female members. Starting with Arsinoe II, the Ptolemaic queens had always been powerful and strong-willed and had been a decisive factor in domestic policy. From the death of Ptolemy V Epiphanes onwards, the queens controlled the political developments in Egypt to a still greater extent. Cleopatra II and especially Cleopatra III became all-dominant, in politics and in the ruler-cult, and they were often depicted in Egyptian temple- reliefs—more often than any of her dynastic predecessors and successors. Mother and/or daughter reigned with Ptolemy VI Philometor to Ptolemy X Alexander I, from 175 to 101 BC, that is, for a quarter of the entire Ptolemaic period. Egyptian queenship was complementary to kingship, both in dynastic and Ptolemaic Egypt: No queen could exist without a king, but at the same time the queen was a necessary component of kingship. According to Lana Troy, the pattern of Egyptian queenship “reflects the interaction of male and female as dualistic elements of the creative dynamics ”.1 The king and the queen functioned as the basic duality through which regeneration of the creative power of the kingship was accomplished.
  • Macedonian Kings, Egyptian Pharaohs the Ptolemaic Family In

    Macedonian Kings, Egyptian Pharaohs the Ptolemaic Family In

    Department of World Cultures University of Helsinki Helsinki Macedonian Kings, Egyptian Pharaohs The Ptolemaic Family in the Encomiastic Poems of Callimachus Iiro Laukola ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be publicly discussed, by due permission of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki in auditorium XV, University Main Building, on the 23rd of September, 2016 at 12 o’clock. Helsinki 2016 © Iiro Laukola 2016 ISBN 978-951-51-2383-1 (paperback.) ISBN 978-951-51-2384-8 (PDF) Unigrafia Helsinki 2016 Abstract The interaction between Greek and Egyptian cultural concepts has been an intense yet controversial topic in studies about Ptolemaic Egypt. The present study partakes in this discussion with an analysis of the encomiastic poems of Callimachus of Cyrene (c. 305 – c. 240 BC). The success of the Ptolemaic Dynasty is crystallized in the juxtaposing of the different roles of a Greek ǴdzȅǻǽǷȏȄ and of an Egyptian Pharaoh, and this study gives a glimpse of this political and ideological endeavour through the poetry of Callimachus. The contribution of the present work is to situate Callimachus in the core of the Ptolemaic court. Callimachus was a proponent of the Ptolemaic rule. By reappraising the traditional Greek beliefs, he examined the bicultural rule of the Ptolemies in his encomiastic poems. This work critically examines six Callimachean hymns, namely to Zeus, to Apollo, to Artemis, to Delos, to Athena and to Demeter together with the Victory of Berenice, the Lock of Berenice and the Ektheosis of Arsinoe. Characterized by ambiguous imagery, the hymns inspect the ruptures in Greek thought during the Hellenistic age.
  • In Ancient Egypt

    In Ancient Egypt

    THE ROLE OF THE CHANTRESS ($MW IN ANCIENT EGYPT SUZANNE LYNN ONSTINE A thesis submined in confonnity with the requirements for the degm of Ph.D. Graduate Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civiliations University of Toronto %) Copyright by Suzanne Lynn Onstine (200 1) . ~bsPdhorbasgmadr~ exclusive liceacc aiiowhg the ' Nationai hiof hada to reproduce, loan, distnia sdl copies of this thesis in miaof#m, pspa or elccmnic f-. L'atm criucrve la propri&C du droit d'autear qui protcge cette thtse. Ni la thèse Y des extraits substrrntiets deceMne&iveatetreimprimCs ouraitnmcrtrepoduitssanssoai aut&ntiom The Role of the Chmaes (fm~in Ancient Emt A doctorai dissertacion by Suzanne Lynn On*, submitted to the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto, 200 1. The specitic nanire of the tiUe Wytor "cimûes", which occurrPd fcom the Middle Kingdom onwatd is imsiigated thrwgh the use of a dalabase cataloging 861 woinen whheld the title. Sorting the &ta based on a variety of delails has yielded pattern regatding their cbnological and demographical distribution. The changes in rhe social status and numbers of wbmen wbo bore the Weindicale that the Egyptians perceivecl the role and ams of the titk âiffefcntiy thugh tirne. Infomiation an the tities of ihe chantressw' family memkrs bas ailowed the author to make iderences cawming llse social status of the mmen who heu the title "chanms". MiMid Kingdom tifle-holders wverc of modest backgrounds and were quite rare. Eighteenth DMasty women were of the highest ranking families. The number of wamen who held the titk was also comparatively smaii, Nimeenth Dynasty women came [rom more modesi backgrounds and were more nwnennis.
  • Tomasz Grabowski Jagiellonian University, Kraków*

    Tomasz Grabowski Jagiellonian University, Kraków*

    ELECTRUM * Vol. 21 (2014): 21–41 doi: 10.4467/20800909EL.14.001.2778 www.ejournals.eu/electrum THE CULT OF THE PTOLEMIES IN THE AEGEAN IN THE 3RD CENTURY BC Tomasz Grabowski Jagiellonian University, Kraków* Abstract: The cult of the Ptolemies spread in various ways. Apart from the Lagids, the initiative came from poleis themselves; private cult was also very important. The ruler cult, both that organ- ised directly by the Ptolemaic authorities and that established by poleis, was tangibly benefi cial for the Ptolemaic foreign policy. The dynastic cult became one of the basic instruments of political activity in the region, alongside acts of euergetism. It seems that Ptolemy II played the biggest role in introducing the ruler cult as a foreign policy measure. He was probably responsible for bringing his father’s nickname Soter to prominence. He also played the decisive role in popularising the cult of Arsinoe II, emphasising her role as protector of sailors and guarantor of the monarchy’s prosperity and linking her to cults accentuating the warrior nature of female deities. Ptolemy II also used dynastic festivals as vehicles of dynastic propaganda and ideology and a means to popu- larise the cult. The ruler cult became one of the means of communication between the subordinate cities and the Ptolemies. It also turned out to be an important platform in contacts with the poleis which were loosely or not at all subjugated by the Lagids. The establishment of divine honours for the Ptolemies by a polis facilitated closer relations and created a friendly atmosphere and a certain emotional bond.
  • Was the Function of the Earliest Writing in Egypt Utilitarian Or Ceremonial? Does the Surviving Evidence Reflect the Reality?”

    Was the Function of the Earliest Writing in Egypt Utilitarian Or Ceremonial? Does the Surviving Evidence Reflect the Reality?”

    “Was the function of the earliest writing in Egypt utilitarian or ceremonial? Does the surviving evidence reflect the reality?” Article written by Marsia Sfakianou Chronology of Predynastic period, Thinite period and Old Kingdom..........................2 How writing began.........................................................................................................4 Scopes of early Egyptian writing...................................................................................6 Ceremonial or utilitarian? ..............................................................................................7 The surviving evidence of early Egyptian writing.........................................................9 Bibliography/ references..............................................................................................23 Links ............................................................................................................................23 Album of web illustrations...........................................................................................24 1 Map of Egypt. Late Predynastic Period-Early Dynastic (Grimal, 1994) Chronology of Predynastic period, Thinite period and Old Kingdom (from the appendix of Grimal’s book, 1994, p 389) 4500-3150 BC Predynastic period. 4500-4000 BC Badarian period 4000-3500 BC Naqada I (Amratian) 3500-3300 BC Naqada II (Gerzean A) 3300-3150 BC Naqada III (Gerzean B) 3150-2700 BC Thinite period 3150-2925 BC Dynasty 1 3150-2925 BC Narmer, Menes 3125-3100 BC Aha 3100-3055 BC
  • The Origin of the Word Amen: Ancient Knowledge the Bible Has Never Told

    The Origin of the Word Amen: Ancient Knowledge the Bible Has Never Told

    Ghana Journal of Linguistics 9.1: 72-96 (2020) ______________________________________________________________________________ http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gjl.v9i1.4 EDITORIAL BOOK CRITIQUE: THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD AMEN: ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE THE BIBLE HAS NEVER TOLD Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon Editor-in-Chief Abstract: The Origin of the Word Amen: Ancient Knowledge the Bible has Never Told is a book that promises to pique the interest of any reader interested in classical Kmt ‘Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’, mdw nTr ‘Hieroglyphs,’ the Akan language, and historical-linguistic connections between the three. Specifically, the book promises to deliver information about how the word imn ‘Amen,’ as attested in classical Kmt ‘Black Nation/Land of the Blacks,’ persists in the contemporary Akan language. While under a steady hand this should be a simple enough thesis to substantiate, unfortunately, the authors’ obvious lack of grounding in historical linguistics, their lack of knowledge of mdw nTr ‘Hieroglyphs’ as well as their lack of understanding the morphology (word structure) of the Akan language all mar the analyses presented in the book. Keywords: Amen, Heru Narmer, historical linguistics, folk etymology Osei, O. K., Issa, J., & Faraji, S. (2020). The Origin of the Word Amen: Ancient Knowledge the Bible has Never Told. Long Beach, CA: Amen-Ra Theological Seminary Press. 1. Introduction In The Origin of the Word Amen: Ancient Knowledge the Bible has Never Told, what should be an open-and-shut case is saddled with a plethora of spurious look-alikes and folk etymologies prompted by attempts to analyze one language with another without actually having studying the language to be analyzed itself.
  • Reading G Uide

    Reading G Uide

    1 Reading Guide Introduction Pharaonic Lives (most items are on map on page 10) Bodies of Water Major Regions Royal Cities Gulf of Suez Faiyum Oasis Akhetaten Sea The Levant Alexandria Nile River Libya Avaris Nile cataracts* Lower Egypt Giza Nile Delta Nubia Herakleopolis Magna Red Sea Palestine Hierakonpolis Punt Kerma *Cataracts shown as lines Sinai Memphis across Nile River Syria Sais Upper Egypt Tanis Thebes 2 Chapter 1 Pharaonic Kingship: Evolution & Ideology Myths Time Periods Significant Artifacts Predynastic Origins of Kingship: Naqada Naqada I The Narmer Palette Period Naqada II The Scorpion Macehead Writing History of Maqada III Pharaohs Old Kingdom Significant Buildings Ideology & Insignia of Middle Kingdom Kingship New Kingdom Tombs at Abydos King’s Divinity Mythology Royal Insignia Royal Names & Titles The Book of the Heavenly Atef Crown The Birth Name Cow Blue Crown (Khepresh) The Golden Horus Name The Contending of Horus Diadem (Seshed) The Horus Name & Seth Double Crown (Pa- The Nesu-Bity Name Death & Resurrection of Sekhemty) The Two Ladies Name Osiris Nemes Headdress Red Crown (Desheret) Hem Deities White Crown (Hedjet) Per-aa (The Great House) The Son of Re Horus Bull’s tail Isis Crook Osiris False beard Maat Flail Nut Rearing cobra (uraeus) Re Seth Vocabulary Divine Forces demi-god heka (divine magic) Good God (netjer netjer) hu (divine utterance) Great God (netjer aa) isfet (chaos) ka-spirit (divine energy) maat (divine order) Other Topics Ramesses II making sia (Divine knowledge) an offering to Ra Kings’ power
  • House of Eternity: Tomb of Nefertari

    House of Eternity: Tomb of Nefertari

    - - - OUSE OF ETERNITY The Tomb of Nefertari John K. McDonald The Getty Conservation Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum Los Angeles Cover/title page: Detail a/Queen Nefertari 0/'1 the north wall of Chamber G. All photographs are by Guillermo Aldana unless credited otherwise. The Getty Conservation Institute works internationally to further the appreciation and preservation of the world's cultural heritage for the enrichment and use of present and future generations. This is the first volume in the Conservation and Cultural Heritage series, which aims to provide in a popular format information about selected culturally significant sites throughout the world. © 1996 The J. Paul Getty Trust All rights reserved Printed in Singapore Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McDonald. John K. House of eternity: the tomb of Nefertari I John K. McDonald. p. cm. ISBN 0-89236-415-7 1. Nefertari. Queen. consort of Rameses II. King of Egypt-Tomb. 2. Mural painting and decoration. Egyptian. 3. Tombs-Egypt. 4. Valley of the Queens (Egypt) I. Title. DT73· v34M35 1996 932-dc20 96-24123 C1P Contents Foreword 5 Introduction Dynasties of Ancient Egypt II Nefertari: Radiant Queen A Letter from Nefertari The Queen's Titles and Epithets 19 The Valley of the Queens Ernesto Schiaparelli 25 Conveyance to Eternal Life: The Royal Tombs of Egypt Tomb Paints and Materials 33 The Tomb Builders' Village 37 After Nefertari's Burial 41 Resurrection and Recurrent Risks 47 The King of the Dead and His Divine Family Divine Guidance 55 Among the Immortals: A Walk through the "House of Eternity" The Texts in the Tomb III Conclusion 116 Acknowledgments II HOUSE OF ETER ITY an honored and < > beloved queen, still in the prime of earthly existence, set off upon a voyage to the netherworld, in quest of eternal life.
  • Queen Arsinoë II, the Maritime Aphrodite and Early Ptolemaic Ruler Cult

    Queen Arsinoë II, the Maritime Aphrodite and Early Ptolemaic Ruler Cult

    ΑΡΣΙΝΟΗ ΕΥΠΛΟΙΑ Queen Arsinoë II, the Maritime Aphrodite and Early Ptolemaic Ruler Cult Carlos Francis Robinson Bachelor of Arts (Hons. 1) A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2019 Historical and Philosophical Inquiry Abstract Queen Arsinoë II, the Maritime Aphrodite and Early Ptolemaic Ruler Cult By the early Hellenistic period a trend was emerging in which royal women were deified as Aphrodite. In a unique innovation, Queen Arsinoë II of Egypt (c. 316 – 270 BC) was deified as the maritime Aphrodite, and was associated with the cult titles Euploia, Akraia, and Galenaië. It was the important study of Robert (1966) which identified that the poets Posidippus and Callimachus were honouring Arsinoë II as the maritime Aphrodite. This thesis examines how this new third-century BC cult of ‘Arsinoë Aphrodite’ adopted aspects of Greek cults of the maritime Aphrodite, creating a new derivative cult. The main historical sources for this cult are the epigrams of Posidippus and Callimachus, including a relatively new epigram (Posidippus AB 39) published in 2001. This thesis demonstrates that the new cult of Arsinoë Aphrodite utilised existing traditions, such as: Aphrodite’s role as patron of fleets, the practice of dedications to Aphrodite by admirals, the use of invocations before sailing, and the practice of marine dedications such as shells. In this way the Ptolemies incorporated existing religious traditions into a new form of ruler cult. This study is the first attempt to trace the direct relationship between Ptolemaic ruler cult and existing traditions of the maritime Aphrodite, and deepens our understanding of the strategies of ruler cult adopted in the early Hellenistic period.
  • Egyptian Temples

    Egyptian Temples

    Originalveröffentlichung in: Christina Riggs (Hrsg.), The Oxford Handbook of Roman Egypt, Oxford 2012, S. 362-382 CHAPTER 22 EGYPTIAN TEMPLES MARTINA MINAS-NERPEL From the beginning of their rule in Egypt, the Ptolemies initiated a gigantic temple con­ struction and decoration programme, which the Roman emperors continued well into the second century ce. Temples were still decorated on a much smaller scale into the third and the beginning of the fourth centuries. The last known cartouche of a Roman emperor in a temple was inscribed under Maximinus Daia (305-13 ce) on blocks belonging to the temple of Horus at Tahta (Holbl 2000: 45 n. 177; 114, fig. 157). Otherwise, the latest evidence comes from Esna (Sauneron 1975:65-6, no. 495; 84-7, no. 503), where the temple of Khnum was still being decorated under Decius (249-51 ce). Stelae inscribed in hieroglyphs continued to be set up in Egyptian temples, for example in the Bucheum at Armant, of which the latest is dated to 340, the fifty-seventh year of the era of Diocletian (Holbl 2000:45 n. 178; Goldbrun- ner 2004:78-9,302). The temple of Isis at Philae, where hieroglyphs were carved in the tem­ ple of Harendotes as late as 394 (Winter 1982:1023), was the last to be kept open, being closed down under Justinian between 535 and 537 (Winter 1982:1026), when it was converted to a church (Dijkstra 2008). The Hellenistic and Roman periods of Egypt are often subsumed under the term ‘Graeco- Roman Egypt’. In his examination of Egyptian society under Ptolemaic and Roman rule, Naphtali Lewis (1970) correctly pointed out that this phrase should not be used to imply con­ tinuity between the two eras, since the changes in the governmental structure, social pat­ terns and politics, administration, and the economy were so fundamental in Roman times as to render the term misleading.

  • Depiction of Cleopatra III (Possibly Her Mother), Assimilated Into Isis

    FRANCK GODDIO UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGIST PTOLEMAIC QUEEN One of the IEASM’s most beautiful finds in Thonis-Heracleion is this Greco-Egyptian-style statue from the Ptolemaic Period. The queen in dark stone is clad in the traditional gown identifying female rulers with Isis. The hair, its plaited strands modelled with exceptional care, is encircled by a dia- dem adorned with the uraeus of kings. The eye inlays, which personalized the face, have disappeared. Pharaonic style with different artistic influence The effigy, which is larger than life- sized, depicts a female figure standing, with arms down by her sides and the left foot slightly forward. This position respects the traditional Pharaonic style, but the modelling of the surface and of the physiognomy bears witness to a different artistic influence. In her left hand the queen is holding the ankh sign (the sign of life) and on her chest her garment bears the ‘Isis knot’. She is dressed in a fine chemise with a scooped neckline. Determined look of a middle-aged woman The ovoid face grows more slender towards the chin. The mouth, with its carefully modelled lips, is thin and tight, giving the individual a stern, determined look. The large, almond- shaped eyes are hollow. The creases at the neck emphasize that the woman is middle-aged. The hair, arranged into long, rolled-up curls, falls down the back and sides. Above the forehead, the locks are shorter, leaving an open triangle on the forehead above the nose. The hair is encircled by a broad, flat dia- dem. In the middle of the forehead is a uraeus, rearing-up.